SALT LAKE CITY — Licorice has long been used as a good treatment for plenty of ills, but the compound that gives the extract its healing powers may also interfere with certain drugs, suggests new research in rats. The findings, presented March 24 at a meeting of the American Chemical Society, suggest that some patients should hold off from sweets made with the plant extract.

Glycyrrhizin, the active compound in licorice, is a major constituent found in the roots of Glycyrrhiza species, a gr...